Railroad
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Introduction One hundred and fifty years ago, it could take six months to travel from New York City to San Francisco.
导言 150年前,从纽约市去旧金山可能需要六个月的时间.
If you left New York in April, you would not arrive in California until October.
如果你在4月离开纽约, 你会直到10月才到达加州。
Over the long months of traveling, you would have to carry all of your food or hunt and gather it from the wild.
在漫长的旅行月中,你必须携带所有的食物或打猎,从野外取出.
You would have to cross freezing, windswept prairies, roasting deserts, and dangerous mountains.
你将不得不穿越冰冻, 风湿草原, 烤荒漠,和危险的山脉。
Yet thousands of people were making this journey across the United States to California every year.
然而,每年有上千人穿越美国前往加利福尼亚州。
The West Coast offered rich farmland, wonderful weather, and best of all, gold.
西海岸提供了丰富的农田 美妙的天气 还有最好的黄金
At the time, the fastest way to travel was by railroad.
当时最快的出行方式是铁路.
Railroads crossed the eastern United States as far west as Chicago, Illinois, and Omaha, Nebraska.
铁路穿越了美国东部,最西到伊利诺伊州芝加哥和内布拉斯加州奥马哈.
Building a railroad across the United States would allow the settlers to get to California much faster.
建造一条横跨美国的铁路将使定居者更快到达加利福尼亚州。
It would also allow the settlers in California and all across the West to reach the East Coast to order goods, send and receive mail, and visit loved ones they may not have seen for years.
这也将使加利福尼亚和整个西部的定居者能够到达东海岸,订购货物,发送和接收邮件,并拜访他们多年没有见到的亲人.
Who Will Build the Railroad?
铁道建设者是谁?.
People had wanted a transcontinental railroad, or a railroad that crossed the entire North American continent, for years.
人们想要一条跨大陆的铁路, 或一条穿越整个北美大陆的铁路, 多年来。
But no one had built one.
但没人造过
Building a railroad of that size was too expensive for any one person or company to pay for.
建造如此规模的铁路费用太高,任何人或公司都付不起。
Engineers had no calculators, no computers, and no airplanes to photograph and chart the land.
工程师没有计算器,没有计算机,也没有飞机来拍摄和绘制土地图.
There were hardly any maps of the areas the railroad would cross.
铁路将跨越的地区几乎没有地图。
Most important, the Northern and Southern states were fighting each other in the Civil War.
最重要的是,南北两州在南北战争中互相打斗.
In July of 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act, declaring that a transcontinental railroad must be built.
1862年7月,国会通过"太平洋铁路法",宣布必须修建一条跨大陆铁路.
The act called for two companies to share the cost of building it.
该法案要求两家公司分担建造它的费用.
The Central Pacific Railroad would start laying track east from Sacramento, California, and the Union Pacific would work west from Omaha, Nebraska.
中太平洋铁路将开始从加利福尼亚州的萨克拉门托向东铺轨,联合太平洋将从内布拉斯加州的奥马哈向西铺轨.
The government would give both companies huge areas of land on either side of the track they built.
政府将给予两家公司在他们建造的赛道两侧的巨大土地面积.
They could sell this land to pay for the railroad.
他们可以卖出这块地来支付铁路费用.
This two-company system made sure that the railroad would be built quickly because it set the two companies against each other in a race.
这种由两家公司组成的系统确保了铁路的快速建设,因为它使得两家公司在一场比赛中相互对立.
The company that built the most track would get the most money.
建造最有轨电车的公司会得到最多的钱.
These companies began the task right away.
这些公司马上开始了任务.
The Central Pacific started work in January 1863 just outside Sacramento, California.
中太平洋号于1863年1月在加利福尼亚州萨克拉门托市外开工.
Who Will Win the Race?
谁能赢得比赛?
The Civil War and financial trouble held back the Union Pacific Railroad for two years.
国共内战与财政问题牵制了联合太平洋铁路两年.
The war was taking up all of the iron, gunpowder, and workers that the railroad needed for building track.
战争夺走了铁路建设轨道所需的全部铁,火药和工人.
But work got underway soon after the war ended in 1865.
但工程在1865年战争结束后不久就开始了.
By 1866, it looked as if the Union Pacific would easily win the race.
到1866年,它看起来似乎联邦太平洋会轻松地赢得比赛.
First, surveying crews studied the land, making measurements and putting stakes in the ground to mark exactly where the track would go.
首先,勘测组人员研究了陆地,进行了测量,并把桩子放入地上,以准确标出赛道会去向.
Second, a crew of graders went out.
第二,一个小队出门。
They removed any trees and other vegetation, filled in any low spots, and dug away any high spots to make a flat, smooth track.
他们清除了任何树木和其他植被,填满了任何低地,并挖出任何高地来制造平坦平滑的轨道.
Across the flat land of the plains, the graders often had little to do.
在平原平地上,平地人往往无所事事。
Laying the track required several groups of workers.
铺平轨道需要几组工人。
First, a team of men laid down wooden timbers called ties across the track.
首先,一队人 铺下木制的木材, 叫做绳索过道。
Next, other men dragged the heavy iron rails into place.
接下来,其他男子将重铁栏杆拖入了原地.
Then, another group of men pounded in iron spikes and bolts that held the rails to the ties.
另一群人被铁钉和螺栓打中 铁钉和螺栓紧紧地拉着绳子
Finally, a last group of men carried in sand and gravel, called ballast, to fill in around the new tracks.
最后,最后一群人带着沙子和砂砾,称为"压载"来填满新轨道.
Using this system, the Union Pacific Railroad could lay 2 or 3 miles (3–5 km) of track in a single day.
使用这一系统,联合太平洋铁路可在一天内铺设2至3英里(3至5公里)的轨道。
Right behind all of these crews, the very first train to cross the plains rolled down the new track.
就在所有这些船员的后面, 第一条穿越平原的火车 滚下新轨道。
The train carried all of the wood, rails, iron spikes, tools, and ballast the crews needed.
列车搭载了所有木头,铁路,铁钉,工具,以及船员所需的压载.
It also carried sleeping cars, a kitchen and food, repair shops, and goods such as clothing.
它还运送了睡车、厨房和食品、修理店和衣服等物品。
It was like a rolling town that built itself as it went.
这就像一个滚滚的小镇, 建设自己去。
The citizens of this working town were mostly immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands; Civil War veterans; and freed African American slaves.
这个工作城镇的公民多为来自爱尔兰,德国和荷兰的移民;内战老兵;并释放了非裔美国奴隶.
They built the railroad across the plains with incredible speed, quickly reaching the Rocky Mountains.
他们以不可思议的速度修建了穿越平原的铁路,并迅速到达了洛基山脉.
The Native Americans of the Great Plains understandably did not like the railroad.
大平原的美洲原住民 都不喜欢这条铁路
The buffalo, which the Native Americans depended on for their entire existence, would not travel across the tracks.
美洲原住民赖以生存的野牛不会穿过铁道
Train passengers shot buffalo by the thousands just for sport.
火车乘客射水牛被上千只为了运动。
Within a few years, the animals were almost gone.
在几年内,动物们几乎消失了.
Without the buffalo, the Native Americans could not survive as they had.
没有水牛,美洲原住民就无法像他们那样活下来.
The railroad also brought a flood of settlers to the plains.
铁路还给平原带来了一大批定居者.
These settlers began farming and building their homes on land that had always been occupied by the Native Americans.
这些定居者开始在一直被美洲原住民占领的土地上耕作并建造家园.
The trains also brought litter, noise, air pollution, and prairie fires caused by sparks from the wood- or coal-burning engines.
列车还带来了由木或燃煤发动机所引发的火花所引发的垃圾,噪音,空气污染和草原火灾.
As the Union Pacific advanced across the West, Native Americans raided and looted the construction crews.
随着太平洋联盟横跨西方,美洲原住民突袭并抢劫了施工人员.
They stole supplies and livestock, and even killed the workers.
他们偷了补给和牲畜,甚至杀害了工人。
The Union Pacific demanded that the army protect the workers and the railroad.
联盟太平洋要求军队保护工人和铁路.
Soon, soldiers were sent onto the plains, where they engaged in many battles with Native Americans.
很快,士兵被派往平原上,在那里他们与美洲原住民进行了多次战斗.
In time, the tribes of the plains, like the buffalo, had all but disappeared.
时平原各部落相如水牛所出已去已去已去也.
Who Will Conquer the Mountains?
谁能征服山脉?
The Central Pacific was going slowly.
太平洋中部正在缓慢发展。
Right away, the company had to cut a track into the steep and snowy Sierra Nevada mountains.
立即,公司不得不切出一条道进入了陡峭而多雪的内华达山脉.
Because trains at the time could not climb steep hills or go around sharp corners, the workers somehow had to make the jagged mountains into a smooth, gently rising trail.
因为当时的列车无法攀登陡峭的山地,也无法绕入尖锐的角落,所以工人们不知何故不得不把被堵住的山弄得平滑而轻而易举地上升起来.
The workers cut away the solid granite mountainsides and filled in gorges and ravines with rocks and soil, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow.
工人将坚固的花岗岩山地切去,并用地峡和沟谷填满了岩石和土壤,由地轮推倒.
It was slow, painful work, and very few people wanted to do it.
这是缓慢而痛苦的工作,很少有人想这样做。
Almost all of the men hired by the Central Pacific Railroad quit within a week.
中太平洋铁路雇用的男子几乎都在一周内退出.
Finally, the Central Pacific reluctantly hired a small group of Chinese workers.
最后,中太平洋不情愿地雇佣了一小撮华人工人.
The railroad bosses thought that they were small and weak.
铁路老板认为他们小而软弱.
The Chinese workers proved to be up to the challenge—and more.
中国工人确实能够应对挑战,
They organized themselves into groups of laborers and foremen.
他们把自己组织成劳工和工头的团体.
They did not leave the job, no matter how difficult it was.
他们没有离开工作,不管有多困难。
The Central Pacific hired more and more Chinese workers until they made up almost the entire workforce.
中太平洋地区雇用了越来越多的华人工人,直到他们几乎组成了整个劳动力.
To get the railroad over the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Chinese workers had to cut fifteen tunnels through solid rock.
为了让铁路穿过内华达山脉,中国工人不得不从固体岩石上切出15个地道.
They used only hand drills, sledgehammers, and loose gunpowder.
他们只用手钻,大锤和松散的火药.
Through the winter, a total of forty-four snowstorms buried the mountains.
经过冬季,共有44起暴雪将山地掩埋.
The workers built tunnels, sleeping areas, and workspaces under an average of 18 feet (5.5 m) of snow.
工人们在平均18英尺(5.5米)的雪地下建造了地道,入睡地和工作空间.
All of their supplies had to be brought up the side of the mountain by ox wagon or by hand.
他们的所有补给都不得不由牛车或手运上山边.
The most famous accomplishment of the Chinese workers was to cut a track into the side of an enormous cliff they called Cape Horn.
中国工人最出名的成就是把一条道划入了他们称之为"角角"的巨大悬崖的一旁.
People who wrote about the project later described workers in woven reed baskets big enough to hold two men.
写关于这个项目的人后来在编织的芦苇篮子中描述了工人,大到能抱住两个人.
They lowered workers in the baskets from the top of the cliff.
他们把工人从悬崖顶上 放下来
The workers drilled holes into the sides of the cliff, stuffed the holes with black powder, and lit a fuse.
工人将洞钻入悬崖的两侧,用黑粉将洞塞入洞口并点起导火线.
The men at the top hauled up the baskets as fast as they could, hoping to pull everyone out of the way before the cliff was blown apart.
顶部的人尽可能快地把篮子拉上来,希望在悬崖被炸开之前把所有人拉出道来.
But with these accomplishments came tragedy.
但是,这些成就带来了悲剧。
Accidents crushed some workers, and the cold weather froze many to death.
事故摧毁了一些工人,而寒冷的天气使许多人被冻死。
Avalanches buried entire groups of men alive—some were not found until spring.
Avalanches活埋了所有一群人,有些直到春天才被发现。
The Central Pacific Railroad did not keep track of how many Chinese laborers were killed while building the Transcontinental Railroad.
中太平洋铁道没有追踪到在建设"跨洲铁道"时有多少中国劳工被害.
It was probably hundreds.
可能是几百个
Finally, in 1867, the track broke through the mountains, and the Central Pacific moved onto the deserts of Utah.
最终在1867年,赛道突破了山脉,中太平洋也迁入了犹他州的沙漠.
Where Will They Meet?
他们在哪里见面?
The Union Pacific had a much easier time crossing the Rocky Mountains than the Central Pacific had crossing the Sierra Nevada.
与中太平洋穿越内华达山脉相比,联合太平洋穿越洛基山脉的时间要快得多。
They took a gentle route called the South Pass, and they also moved quickly onto the deserts of Utah.
他们走的是一条叫"南口"的温和路线,他们也迅速移入犹他州的沙漠.
On May 10, 1869, workers, railroad owners, journalists, and politicians gathered at Promontory Point, Utah, for the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
1869年5月10日,工人,铁路业主,记者等政治家聚集在犹他州Promontory Point,以完成横贯大陆的铁路.
The race was over—the Union Pacific had laid 1,086 miles (1,748 km) of track, and the Central Pacific had laid 689 miles (1,109 km), though the Central Pacific got extra money for building through the Sierra Nevada mountains.
赛事已经结束——联合太平洋铺设了1,086英里(1,748公里)的赛道,中太平洋铺设了689英里(1,109公里)的赛道,不过中太平洋得到了额外的资金来通过内华达山脉进行建设.
To celebrate the completion of the first railroad to cross the United States, the heads of the two companies would drive the last four spikes into the track.
为了庆祝第一条穿越美国的铁路完工,两家公司的负责人会将后四道突起开入赛道.
Special spikes were made of gold and silver.
特别的钉子是用金银做的。
Leland Stanford, the head of the Central Pacific, and Thomas Durant, head of the Union Pacific, both raised sledgehammers, carefully aimed—and missed!
中太平洋会长利兰·斯坦福和太平洋会长托马斯·杜兰特都举起高手来,小心瞄准——并错过了!
But the Transcontinental Railroad was complete.
但横贯大陆的铁路已经完工.
Conclusion Suddenly, California was a few days of travel away from New York.
结论 突然间,加利福尼亚州离纽约只有几天路程.
Railroads soon stretched to Salt Lake City, Oregon Territory, and the Southwest.
铁路很快被拉到俄勒冈领地盐湖城和西南.
Towns sprang up along the track now that trains could bring passengers, supplies, and mail quickly and safely.
现在火车可以快速安全地运送乘客、物资和邮件。
The end of the Civil War had reunited the country from north to south.
内战的结束使国家从北到南重新统一.
And for the first time, a transcontinental railroad united the country from east to west.
而由东向西的一通横贯大陆的铁路首次统一了全国.